Dec 09, 2024  
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog 
    
2024-2025 Graduate Catalog

Organizational Psychology, M.S.


Required credits (36)


The Organizational Psychology program addresses the critical leadership skills required to enhance organizational effectiveness. Today’s leaders and managers need to know how to promote teamwork, manage transitions, and restructure organizations. The Organizational Psychology program provides a theoretical framework in organizational behavior and allows students to evaluate and improve their own skills in research design, data collection and analysis, communication, facilitation, and leadership. The program helps students develop both their theoretical understanding of individual, interpersonal, group, and organizational issues, and their ability to put that theory into practice. This integration of theory and practice prepares graduates to lead, manage, and/or consult with dynamic and diverse organizations operating in a global environment.

The 36-credit-hour program is designed to meet the needs of three groups of students. It provides (1) a strong foundation for students who intend to pursue further graduate work, (2) solid training and applied experience opportunities for students who wish to terminate with a master’s degree and apply their acquired skills and knowledge in the marketplace, and (3) an opportunity for non-psychologist professionals who wish to become more knowledgeable about the application of psychology to their professional interests.

Degree Requirements


The Organizational Psychology program in the Department of Psychology is a 36-credit program: five required courses (15 credits), including either a capstone project or an internship; at least five electives in organizational studies (15-21 credits); and no more than two electives in general psychology (6 credits). We offer both a traditional master’s program and a 100% online option. Students can take courses in the parallel program with permission of instructor and program director. All students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 36 credit hours with a grade point average of at least 3.00 and have no more than two grades below B-. No more than 9 credits may be taken from the Barney School of Business.

Quantitative Courses


(two required/6 credits)

Research/Internship


(one required/3 credits)

Organizational Studies Electives


(five to seven required/15–21 credits)

Admission Requirements


A completed application for consideration for admission consists of

  1. transcripts of all past education experiences and documentation of the award of the bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education;
  2. the GRE test scores are not required;
  3. a personal statement of academic objectives and professional goals; and
  4. three letters of reference evaluating educational and/or work experience.

Transfer Credit


With the approval of the program director, graduate students may transfer up to 6 credits of course work that are applicable to the program requirements.

Additional Information


*Students in the 100% online program are required to complete the Capstone project (PSY 625 ).

**PSY 545  Contemporary studies elective courses are offered on a variety of topics. Course titles listed on the class schedule and student transcripts state the subject matter of the course. Multiple PSY 545  studies courses can be taken as electives.

Accelerated Master of Science in Organizational Psychology

The purpose of this accelerated program is to enable University of Hartford students to complete both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in Psychology in five years. This program is designed for exceptional psychology majors who have demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and who know in their junior year that they wish to pursue a master’s degree in organizational psychology.

Students must apply by April 1 of their junior year by completing the standard online application for graduate study, including three letters of recommendation (two of which must come from the faculty in the University of Hartford). In order to qualify for the conditional admission, a student must have an overall GPA of at least 3.0, based on a minimum of 70 credits, and have a GPA of at least 3.25 in the psychology major, based on a minimum of 18 credits. Students will be informed of the conditional admission decision by the end of the spring semester.

If given conditional admission to the Master of Science program, students become eligible to take pre-approved graduate course work, 9 credits of which could be applied toward both the B.A. in psychology and the M.S. in Organizational Psychology.  These credits could be completed during the summer between the junior and senior years and/or during the regular semesters of the senior year.

Matriculating in the Master of Science program is conditional on the student’s completing the B.A. in psychology while maintaining an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and earning a grade of B or better in each of the graduate courses completed prior to the end of the senior year. Once fully matriculated into the graduate program, the students have the option to complete the remaining courses through campus-based or on-line version of the Organizational Psychology program.